After four days, Elaine realized that she could not have an entire tablecloth embroidered in a week. Not even if it was just for a coffee table. But maybe if I could have it done a couple days after that, I could get her to come pick it up instead of waiting another week to see her…
Elaine wasn’t sure if she should really want that to happen or not. It wasn’t as if she and the Lady were friends, really. She wondered if they ever would be.
By about the middle of that day, Elaine was sick of sitting inside, doing nothing but sewing all day. She’d rarely had a problem with boredom before, and when she did get tired of her various projects she would normally just go outside for a walk or something. Lately though, she’d been restless. She couldn’t stop thinking about Lady Katherine, and wondering if she was still being chased around by men in the city.
So, finally, Elaine decided she should just go to the city already and see for herself. Maybe she could bring along a few of her finished works that were just sitting in storage and see if she couldn’t get a little bit of money for herself as well.
With her things gathered up, Elaine headed out. For once, she was more excited than nervous to go to the city. The last time she’d felt this secure going out was before her parents had left.
It took a little over half an hour to walk there, so by the time she got to the city it was starting to get a little later than she liked. Now a little less confident, Elaine tried to remember if the city gates would close at a certain time, leaving her stuck in the city, or if the market closed at a certain time for that matter.
To her relief, the market appeared just as busy as ever. But now Elaine didn’t really feel like trying to sell any of her things; it was still a little too nerve-wracking to imagine someone realizing that she was a sliver and reacting badly.
So instead she wandered about the city, taking it in and looking for signs of a black cat with a key hanging from its neck. She came across a few interesting things, like a blacksmith’s forge and a stable full of all kinds of horses, but no cat.
Finally, around the end of the day, Elaine made her way to the top of an abandoned-looking building near the city gate and just watched things happen down below, munching on some foreign fruit she’d purchased.
“It’s a nice view, isn’t it?”
Elaine jumped and nearly fell off the roof, but a strong pair of hands caught her. Elaine looked up. It was Lady Katherine. “By the magic of the earth, you scared the Spirits out of me!”
Lady Katherine looked a little torn between being mischievously amused and apologetic. “Well, you shouldn’t get on top of roofs if you don’t have a plan for getting down safely,” she teased.
Elaine scoffed indignantly. “You’re one to talk!”
Lady Katherine shifted back and let Elaine go, then looked over the edge. “I made you drop your kiwi. I’m sorry.”
“My—? Oh, the fruit thing? I didn’t even know what it was, I just thought it looked interesting,” Elaine admitted.
Lady Katherine squinted down, then gave Elaine a very serious look. “I’m sorry, but were you eating the skin as well?”
“…Are you supposed to peel them first? I tried but it wasn’t working very well…”
The Enchantress started to laugh, the serious look on her face vanishing. “You really don’t get out much, do you?”
Elaine looked down, unsure if she felt bad that the Lady was laughing at her, or if she wanted to just laugh at herself with her. So she just shrugged and sat down, putting her chin in her hands. “Not really, but I thought it might be fun. Even if I ended up doing something dumb like eating a… kiwi? with the skin on still.”
“So you didn’t come here for any particular reason then?”
Elaine looked back at Lady Katherine. A reason like what? But she couldn’t read what the Enchantress might be thinking, so she turned back again and shrugged, already feeling her face warm a little as she thought about the main reason she’d come. “Oh, you know, just thought I’d… look around.”
Lady Katherine was silent for a moment, and Elaine looked back again when she said, “Do you want to look around some more with me?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to be a bother, and—”
“Trust me,” Lady Katherine interrupted. “Wandering about with someone who hasn’t seen the city before would be much more exciting than the other things I have to do all day.”
Elaine stood up, but hesitated, looking at the sun. There were still a couple of hours before dark, and she wasn’t feeling too bad magic-wise despite spending this much time in the city. Maybe it’d be okay if she held out a little longer.
“Okay. I’d like that.”
The Enchantress’ eyes brightened. “Great!” She took Elaine’s hand in her own and pulled them both off the roof, making Elaine yelp. Somehow they both landed on their feet, gently.
Lady Katherine looked so pleased with herself, Elaine couldn’t help laughing, partly from exhilaration and partly from adrenaline. “Show-off.”
The Enchantress shrugged. “I said I was going to show you interesting things.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Elaine could have sworn she looked embarrassed for saying them. “So, ah, this way first.”
Elaine didn’t press the matter, but grinned a little. I’m not the only one who just says what weird thing she’s thinking sometimes.
They walked for a while, apparently to some destination that the Lady had in mind, when Elaine finally said, “Wait, if you’ve been able to do spells like that all the time, why could you never get off my roof when you were a cat?”
Lady Katherine shrugged. “Well, not that I realized it wasn’t just laziness back then, but I never felt like trying when I was up there. Too hard, I suppose.”
“Too hard when you had me to get you down, you mean.” Elaine smirked at the Lady’s dry look. “Why my house, anyway? Aren’t there dozens of places in town you could have gone to hide from the men chasing you down?”
Lady Katherine paused in her stride. “What makes you think I was hiding from them?” Before Elaine could explain herself, the Lady went on, talking and walking. “Not that I wasn’t. It was just a nice place, far from the city, that people seemed to have a bit of a hard time finding. Also, your roof was warm.”
“Warm?”
“Just a slight heat that appealed to my cat nature. I guess it was a milder version of what I felt when I was actually inside. I haven’t forgiven you for that yet, by the way.”
“Oh.” Elaine winced. “I really am sorry about that. I had no idea you were the cat…”
Lady Katherine laughed. “I’m just kidding! You should know, it takes a lot to make me mad for any great length of time. Especially if whatever made me upset wasn’t long-lasting.
“And anyway, no one knows I’m the cat, except my uncle Stephan. And you, now. People usually don’t know things if I don’t want them to.”
They continued to walk in silence, during which Elaine realized that that must really be true; no one even seemed to know that their Lady of Light and Dark was walking right past them with some girl, a sliver at that. They didn’t even seem to see them, even though the Lady at least should be instantly recognizable to them. She uses magic like breathing air.
Suddenly, the Enchantress stopped and Elaine nearly bumped into her. “Here we are!”
Elaine looked past the Lady. “Um… this is a wall?”
Lady Katherine grinned. “And now it’s not.”
Sure enough, when Elaine looked back, there was a door, which the Lady led her through as she stared in amazement.
Past the door was what appeared to be some kind of… food court?
“I… had no idea there were secret food courts hidden inside the city?”
Lady Katherine laughed. “Surprise! But really, it’s not a secret. Most everyone knows about it, it’s just expensive. But they have the best food ever.”
“This is the most exciting thing you could show me?”
The Lady looked a little deflated. “Well, I mean, I was hungry, and I thought I owed you something after making you lose your kiwi…”
Elaine laughed, shaking her head. “I’m just teasing. Food sounds great, especially if I don’t have to pay for it. And you don’t have to hide the fact that you just really like food. I saw how much you ate as a cat.”
Lady Katherine pretended to be offended as the two of them went to order. Elaine noticed that, still, no one seemed to recognize her.
The two of them chatted while they waited for their food, laughing together as if they’d known each other for longer than just a week. I had no idea the Enchantress was this nice. I can’t believe she hasn’t gotten tired of me yet.
Just as Elaine was thinking that, Lady Katherine suddenly flushed and buried her face in her hands. “Oh Spirits.”
Elaine looked around, confused. “What’s wrong?”
Lady Katherine laughed a little and crossed her arms, looking self-conscious. “I don’t know what your name is.”
Elaine blinked, surprised. “I know your name.”
The Lady’s face went from embarrassed to sardonic. “Really? You do?”
“Well, not everyone in this city seems to recognize Enchantress Katherine, Lady of Light and Dark.”
Lady Katherine cringed. “Spirits, please don’t tell me you’ve been calling me all that inside your head this whole time. Katherine is fine.”
Elaine made a mental note.
“And anyway, that’s really just a simple spell. Keeps people off of me, since they love me so much.”
Elaine wondered about the sarcasm there, but before she could press, their food came.
“Here you are, Kat, the usual, and the same for your date.” The waitress winked and left.
Elaine felt her eyebrows go up and Katherine looked mortified. “I’m a regular here, though most of them only know me as Kat,” she said as if that explained everything.
Not going to talk about the “date” part then. Interesting. Elaine realized she was smiling, perhaps a little too knowingly, but chose not to clear her expression. “Can I call you Kat?”
Katherine scowled. “No.”
They ate their meal in relative silence, partially because Elaine was still dwelling on the idea of being on a date with Katherine, partially because she was eating the absolute best food she had tasted in the entirety of her life. With the possible exception of her mother’s chocolate berry pastries.
When they were done, Elaine followed Katherine back to the edge of the city, where they continued to talk about various things, from what it was like to be a cat causing mischief around the city as people tried to catch her, to what it was like to be a sliver, to what it was like to get through life without the help of parents.
Finally, regretfully, Elaine said, “I had better be getting home. Half an hour’s walk, and it’s already dark out here.” Plus her aching from all the magic in the city was really starting to hurt.
“I can walk you back,” Katherine offered, though Elaine thought it sounded more like a question asking permission than a statement.
“Oh, I’d like that.”
And so they continued to talk as they went, until they simply fell into a comfortable silence, dotted with the occasional comment and laugh here and there.
Finally, they were on Elaine’s doorstep. “Well, here we are, I suppose.”
Katherine nodded. “Here we are.”
They were both quiet, and Elaine wondered if Katherine was thinking, as Elaine was, that she wasn’t sure she wanted the night to end yet.
Perhaps not, since Katherine broke the silence with, “Do I ever get to know your name?”
Elaine laughed; now it was her turn to be embarrassed. “Spirits, I forgot I didn’t tell you! I should have when you first came here, but…”
Katherine smiled. “But you keep avoiding it by overexplaining other things.”
“I don’t…!” Elaine caught herself before she tried to explain. “Elaine. My name is Elaine.”
Katherine tilted her head a little, as if to make sure she caught the sound of Elaine’s name. “Elaine.”
Elaine’s heart beat a little faster in response to hearing Katherine say her name. “Just Elaine.”
“Elaine.” Katherine stepped in closer, close enough that Elaine couldn’t help but breathe her scent, close enough that Elaine’s heart beat even faster as Katherine’s warmth pressed in. “Elaine, may I…?”
Katherine closed the gap between the two of them, her lips gently brushing against Elaine’s.
Elaine took a sharp breath and Katherine looked worried, nervous, her eyebrows furrowing. But Elaine whispered, “Yes,” and closed her eyes, allowing Katherine to kiss her. Just once. Long, but soft.
They pulled apart and Katherine looked as shy as Elaine felt. Her orange eyes were all but glowing. “Good night, Elaine. I’ll see you soon.”
“Good night, Katherine.”
Elaine watched her go, feeling light and starry all over, before finally going to sleep and dreaming of cats and magic and gentle kisses.
Author Notes: Part 1: https://www.shortstories101.com/story/cat-part-1/
Part 4: https://www.shortstories101.com/story/cat-part-4/
Katherine is gaaay. Let me know what you think!
Part 6: https://www.shortstories101.com/story/cat-part-6/
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